A polypropylene melt-blown strategy for the facile and efficient membrane separation of oil-water mixtures

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2020.03.033

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2021, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (1): 383-390.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2020.03.033

A polypropylene melt-blown strategy for the facile and efficient membrane separation of oil-water mixtures

Zhenqiang Zhang¹, Danfeng Yu¹, Xiubin Xu¹, Huayi Li², Taoyan Mao¹, Cheng Zheng¹, Jianjia Huang¹, Hui Yang³, Zihan Niu¹, Xu Wu¹

1 School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China;
2 CAS Key Lab of Engineering Plastics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
3 CAS Key Lab of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

Received:2020-02-03 Revised:2020-03-24 Online:2021-04-02 Published:2021-01-28
Contact: Danfeng Yu, Xu Wu
Supported by:
We wish to thank the National Natural Science Foundations of China (Nos. 21878059, 21878058, 21808044), the Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province (2017A050501040), the Science and Technology Project of the Guangzhou Education Bureau (201831830, 201831825) for sponsoring this research.

A polypropylene melt-blown strategy for the facile and efficient membrane separation of oil-water mixtures

Zhenqiang Zhang¹, Danfeng Yu¹, Xiubin Xu¹, Huayi Li², Taoyan Mao¹, Cheng Zheng¹, Jianjia Huang¹, Hui Yang³, Zihan Niu¹, Xu Wu¹

1 School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China;
2 CAS Key Lab of Engineering Plastics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
3 CAS Key Lab of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

通讯作者: Danfeng Yu, Xu Wu
基金资助:
We wish to thank the National Natural Science Foundations of China (Nos. 21878059, 21878058, 21808044), the Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province (2017A050501040), the Science and Technology Project of the Guangzhou Education Bureau (201831830, 201831825) for sponsoring this research.

Abstract

Abstract: Porous materials with selective wettability and permeability have significant importance in oil-water separation, but complex fabrication processes are typically required to obtain the desired structures with suitable surface chemistry. In this work, an industrial melt-blown strategy that utilized commercially available polypropylene (PP) was used for the large-scale fabrication of superhydrophobic/superoleophilic membranes with staggered fabric structures. These membranes could readily separate different oils including pump oil and crude oil from various aqueous solutions such as strongly acidic, alkaline, and saline media. In addition, the separation efficiencies of these membranes exceeded 99%, and they could remain functional even after exposure to corrosive media. We anticipate that this work will further the design of membranes and enhance their applicability in oil-water separation, and provide researchers and engineers with a more effective tool for performing challenging separations and mitigating pollution.

Key words: Separation, Polypropylene membranes, Surface, Superhydrophobicity, Superoleophilicity, Environment

摘要： Porous materials with selective wettability and permeability have significant importance in oil-water separation, but complex fabrication processes are typically required to obtain the desired structures with suitable surface chemistry. In this work, an industrial melt-blown strategy that utilized commercially available polypropylene (PP) was used for the large-scale fabrication of superhydrophobic/superoleophilic membranes with staggered fabric structures. These membranes could readily separate different oils including pump oil and crude oil from various aqueous solutions such as strongly acidic, alkaline, and saline media. In addition, the separation efficiencies of these membranes exceeded 99%, and they could remain functional even after exposure to corrosive media. We anticipate that this work will further the design of membranes and enhance their applicability in oil-water separation, and provide researchers and engineers with a more effective tool for performing challenging separations and mitigating pollution.

关键词: Separation, Polypropylene membranes, Surface, Superhydrophobicity, Superoleophilicity, Environment

Zhenqiang Zhang, Danfeng Yu, Xiubin Xu, Huayi Li, Taoyan Mao, Cheng Zheng, Jianjia Huang, Hui Yang, Zihan Niu, Xu Wu. A polypropylene melt-blown strategy for the facile and efficient membrane separation of oil-water mixtures[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2021, 29(1): 383-390.

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A polypropylene melt-blown strategy for the facile and efficient membrane separation of oil-water mixtures

A polypropylene melt-blown strategy for the facile and efficient membrane separation of oil-water mixtures

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